Auburn softball left the fans at Jane B. Moore field anticipating the start of the regular season with a pair of dominating victories over Snead State Community College and Troy in its fall ball exhibition schedule opener.
With no mercy rule in play, the Tigers fired on all cylinders with 26 hits and 32 runs on the day, while young pitching got out on the right foot, allowing six hits and two runs over 14 innings pitched.
Auburn used all six of its eligible newcomers, including four freshman and two transfers, but it was a returning star that stole the show.
One of the five returning starters to take the field, junior Annabelle Widra accompanied a perfect day at the plate with four shutout innings in her start versus Troy. She went 5-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs and three stolen bases while striking out two in her winning effort on the mound.
After four key offensive threats transferred out of Auburn following last season, Auburn flexed its options, rotating several players at key positions.
Maryland transfer Amelia Lech started both games at first base and had a two-homer day in her debut in an Auburn uniform, and DePaul transfer Anna Wohlers showed her flexibility by catching in game two after playing third base in game one. Returning starters Nelia Peralta and Rose Roach returned to their positions at shortstop and second base in game two, while Widra and Riley McNemar took those spots in game one.
Returning sophomores Millie Roberts and Skylar Elkins also saw time behind the plate, while Axe Milanowski showed her flexibility at the corners of the infield in each game.
In the outfield, junior Abbey Smith made her presence felt all around with spectacular grabs in each game. Makayla Packer started both games in center field, giving way to freshman Thalia Martin. Senior KK McCrary held down right field in both games.
Here are some key notes from each game.
Game 1: Snead State CC
Auburn started a pair of newcomers at the infield corners, Lech and McNemar hit the first two homers for the new-look Tiger squad and three underclassmen pitchers took charge in an 18-2 win over Snead State to start the day.
The Tigers only played three returning starters in game one, and they led the way. Widra, playing shortstop in game one, went 3-for-3 with four RBI and two steals, Makayla Packer had a multi-hit, multi-RBI game while the team racked up 16 hits. Senior McCrary led off playing right field and scored three runs while reaching on two walks as well as driving in one on a sacrifice hit.
Sophomore Emma Rolfe started on the mound and was relieved by freshmen Malayna Tamborra and Chalea Clemmons in a seven-inning performance with two runs and four hits allowed. Abbey Smith helped with a spectacular diving grab in center field, but Rolfe pitched a pair of scoreless, hitless innings with six strikeouts and a walk before the two freshman piggybacked to finish the game.
Reigning from Marietta, Georgia, Tamborra's three innings pitched earned her the win, and Tamborra and Clemmons allowed one run a piece.
With junior transfers starting at first and third base, Lech (Maryland) at first base and Anna Wohlers (DePaul) at third base, Auburn subbed in two more newcomers: freshmen Georgia natives Kyla Stroud and Thalia Martin. They each tallied their first hits in an Auburn uniform, with Stroud lining a double off the right field wall in her first at bat and Martin coming in to score on her RBI single.
Auburn got the benefit of playing 13 position players and getting three young pitchers experience in a commanding team effort in a dominant game one win.
Game 2: Troy
Lech continued her strong first impression on the Plains with another HR, and Widra and Rolfe were dominant on the mound in a 14-0 defeat of Troy.
A shutout is nothing new for Auburn pitching, but notching the feat without using seniors Maddie Penta or Shelby Lowe is.
Widra finished her impressive day with four innings pitched — allowing one hit, no walks and striking out two before Rolfe added to her scoreless day. Her pair of blank frames gave her four scoreless innings on the day with eight strikeouts after allowing 15 runs over 18.2 innings in her freshman year.
After tallying her first collegiate hit earlier in the game, Clemmons finished out the game with a scoreless frame of her own.
Offensively, Auburn never stopped adding on. Homers from Packer and McCrary added to Lech's second of the day, and a bases-clearing hit from Peralta put things away.
Tamborra, in addition to Clemmons, showed her skill on both sides of the ball with a hit and two RBIs after getting the win on the mound in game one.
Auburn showed it has options, but the young team will continue to find the best lineups and mix things up its fall exhibition slate next Sunday, Oct. 8, in Montgomery, Alabama, against AUM and Alabama State.
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